She is best known for her singles You Got Me her collaboration with The Roots, as well as her own songs Tyrone, Love of My Life, On & On, Bag Lady, The Healer, Honey and Soldier. Her lyrics are highly personal urban philosophy which throw emotional challenges in the face of the listener. She weaves unusual musical influences together creating a rich texture of sound.
Some music journalists have labeled her Nu soul, nouvelle-soul or neo soul, often comparing her to Billie Holiday in lyrical delivery and grouping her with Maxwell and D'Angelo in musical genre.
Baduizm, Badu's highly acclaimed debut album, was released in early 1997 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Lead single On & On reached #12 on the singles charts in both the U.S. and UK. Badu received notice for her introspective lyrics and jazzy, bass-heavy sound, and was hailed as one of the leading lights of the burgeoning neo soul genre. Her sophisticated style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday. Baduizm eventually went triple platinum and, along with On & On, won Grammy Awards at the 1998 ceremonies.
During that year, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had a child, Seven, who was born in 1997. Their relationship ended sometime in the late 90s. Badu recorded her first live album, Live, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with the birth to her child. Live reached #4 on the Billboard charts, selling double platinum, and spawned another R&B hit single in Tyrone a song chiding a selfish, cheap, and inattentive boyfriend. Badu also collaborated with The Roots (who had previously handled production duties on a number of tracks on Baduizm) on their breakthrough 1999 release, Things Fall Apart. She was featured on the song You Got Me co-written by Jill Scott, which hit the top 40 and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
After taking some time off to raise her child, Badu returned in 2000 with Mama's Gun, an album more organic in sound than her previous studio album, and primarily produced by the Soulquarians and noted bassist Pino Palladino. A remix of one of the album's songs, Bag Lady was issued as the first single and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The album was well-received, with the lyrical content winning notices from many publications who found some of her lyrics hard to decipher on her initial releases. Despite not charting as high as her first two albums, Mama's Gun was another platinum-selling success, and Bag Lady was nominated for a Grammy.
By 2000, Badu was in a romantic relationship with fellow Soulquarian Common, and Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop) was released as a collaboration between the two on the Brown Sugar soundtrack. Love of My Life hit #9 on the pop charts, topped the R&B listings, and Badu was awarded her fourth Grammy for the song in 2003.
After the release of Mama's Gun and Love of My Life, Badu went through a period of writer's block. She hit the road throughout 2002 and much of 2003 on what she dubbed the "Frustrated Artist Tour," in search of inspiration to write and perform new material. The conclusion of the tour saw Badu head back to the studio with new material, and in September of 2003, the Worldwide Underground was released. More jam-oriented than any of her prior releases, Badu was quoted as saying that the release was designed to serve as one continuous groove. Worldwide Underground reached #3 on the Billboard charts and was certified gold not long after its release, and Badu received four further Grammy nominations for the EP.
After almost four years and the birth of a daughter, Puma, it was revealed in 2007 that Badu had three albums in the works over the course of 2007 and 2008. Honey, a new single produced by 9th Wonder, was leaked online in November 2007, and the new album, titled New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), was released on February 26, 2008.
On August 23, 2008, Badu joined the rock band My Morning Jacket on stage at their show in Dallas, Texas to perform her song Tyrone. Her surprise appearance was met with an enthusiastic reaction from the audience.
On February 1, 2009 Badu gave birth to her third child, a girl named Mars Merkaba with her boyfriend Jay Electronica.
Her album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) was released on March 30, 2010.
Afro
Erykah Badu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One, two
You need to pick your afro daddy
Because it's flat on one side
You need to pick your afro daddy
Because it's flat on one side
What are you waiting on
Well if you don't pick your afro
You gonna have one side high, ha, ha
Well, you said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
So I braided my hair, well, yes you did
You said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
So I braided my hair, yes I did, corn roll and everything baby
Well, you changed your mind and said we wasn't going
But my momma saw you there
Yes she did, check this out, one time
Well I be blowing up your pager daddy
But you never called me back
Well I be putting in 9-1-1 baby
But you never called me back, no, no
See if you don't know how to use that pager daddy
I'm gonna take that hoe back, yes I will
In the opening lines of Erykah Badu's song "Afro", the artist is trying to get people to pay attention to her message by using a spoken-word introduction as she asks for the attention of ladies and gentlemen. The song is a fun, lighthearted take on the experiences of a black woman in the late 90s/early 2000s, where she's encouraging men to take better care of their hair. The first set of lyrics is aimed at men who have afros, specifically those who don't take care of them. Badu is telling them to pick out their afro because it's flat on one side. She uses repetition to drive her point home, stating the same line twice in a row.
In the next set of lyrics, Badu shares a personal experience where someone promised to take her to see Wu-Tang but then changed their mind. She braided her hair to impress them, but they didn't follow through. In the last verse, she's calling out someone for not returning her calls, showing a frustrated side of her personality. The message throughout this song seems to be that it's important to take care of yourself, whether it's your hair or your commitment to others.
Overall, "Afro" is a light-hearted song that showcases Badu's unique style and playful nature. It's an empowering message to take charge of your own life and not let others dictate your choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Excuse us ladies and gentleman
Acknowledging the audience before the start of the song.
One, two
Counting down to the start of the song.
You need to pick your afro daddy
Your hair needs attention.
Because it's flat on one side
Your hair is uneven.
What are you waiting on
Why haven't you fixed your hair yet?
Well if you don't pick your afro
If you don't take care of your hair,
You gonna have one side high, ha, ha
It will look unbalanced with one side being much larger than the other.
Well, you said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
You promised to take me to see Wu-Tang Clan.
So I braided my hair, well, yes you did
So I put my hair in braids, just like you asked.
You said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
You promised to take me to see Wu-Tang Clan.
So I braided my hair, yes I did, corn roll and everything baby
I even put my hair in cornrows to make sure it looked good.
Well, you changed your mind and said we wasn't going
You changed your plans and said we weren't going anymore.
But my momma saw you there
But my mom saw you at the Wu-Tang show without me.
Yes she did, check this out, one time
I'm telling the truth.
Well I be blowing up your pager daddy
I've been trying to get in touch with you.
But you never called me back
You haven't returned my calls.
Well I be putting in 9-1-1 baby
I'm trying to get your attention.
But you never called me back, no, no
You still haven't called me back.
See if you don't know how to use that pager daddy
You might not know how to use your pager.
I'm gonna take that hoe back, yes I will
I'll take the pager back if you're not going to use it to contact me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: James Jason Poyser, Jafar D. Barron, Erica Wright
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind